After All, You're Exceptional
by JellyNellie
Summary: Callie has a terrible nightmare, and Stef and Lena try and help her get back to reality once she wakes up. Callie feels like she's stuck in a cycle, and Stef and Lena let her know that they will always be there for her no matter what. Mostly Callie and Stef, but Lena is involved too. Mariana pops up in the beginning.


**Hey! I hope you enjoy this one shot on my mind. Possible *trigger warning* when it comes to Callie's dream. Sorry if there are grammatical errors, this came out of my head and I'm uploading this late at night. Anyways, enjoy! I appreciate all the favorites and reviews!**

Callie had been having a pretty good month and a half emotionally. She hadn't been dealing with any major problems, and things seemed to be going well for her in her life. She seemed to have a glimmer of hope that her life was becoming "normal" now. As she reflected on the fun events of her Saturday, she quickly fell asleep, which was something she was never able to do in the past. Nighttime was always hard for her, as the mysteries of the night seemed to continuously haunt her.

 _"Come on, no one will ever know" a voice echoed as Callie was now walking down a dark street that she wasn't familiar with 'How in the world did I get here? I was just at the beach with Mariana…' she thought to herself. Callie started to notice that she felt eerily chilly, as she noticed that she no longer was wearing the jacket she had on a couple moments ago. "You know you want it" the voice echoed. Callie's heart seemed to drop suddenly to her stomach as her breathing got heavier and she felt the need to run._

 _"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Callie screamed. She tried to sprint away, but no matter how much effort she put into it, she seemed to be moving slower and slower. Callie could hear footsteps approaching her and growing louder and Callie began to feel chillier and chillier. By now, she was panicking and felt as if she were being sucked back by a strong force. She was sucked into the arms of a guy with a hood covering his face. Callie tried hard to fight it and get away, but her limbs began to sink and she felt like she was underwater. "I know you're going to enjoy this" the man said as he pulled his hood back, revealing his face; revealing Liam's face._

Stef was awakened by the noise of footsteps in the hallway. She was alert now, since all of her children were asleep. She peeked over at the digital clock to reveal that it had just reached two in the morning. She started to get out of the bed slowly as to not wake Lena. The door opened to reveal a half asleep Mariana. Stef relaxed some.

"What are you doing up Miss Thing? Everything okay?" she whispered standing up.

"Callie woke me up. I don't know what she's doing. She's talking to me but it doesn't make sense" she replied with a yawn.

"Okay, I'll go check on her. Thank you" Stef said leading Mariana to the warm spot in the bed where she had just lay. Mariana naturally filled the spot and pulled the covers up. Stef watched her and smirked. She shook her head knowing that she probably lost her spot for the rest of the night.

As Stef closed her bedroom door, she could hear noises coming from down the hallway near the girls' room. Her senses quickly heightened again as she tried to figure out what was going on. She walked up to the girls' bedroom door which a sleepy Mariana left open and saw Callie's blanket hanging off the bed with just a corner barely hanging onto the bed which her foot was wrapped in. Callie was sprawled out on her bed wiggling as if she were fighting, and Stef immediately knew Callie was having a bad dream.

"Stop it please" Callie pleaded as Stef rushed over to try and wake her up. "Baby it's mom. You're just dreaming sweetheart, wake up" Stef explained. She reached out to try and prevent Callie from hurting herself on the wall from flailing around. Stef saw Callie's face and the tears rolling down her face along with the sweat beading up on her face were more than enough to let her know that this dream would be hard to pull Callie from. Callie continued to flail and whine, almost knocking over her lamp on her night stand. Stef was now shaking Callie's shoulders and calling her name.

"Callie hun you need to wake up. Cals. Callie!" she continued, trying not to wake up the others in the house. Callie jolted up in bed, eyes wide and coughing exasperatedly. Stef tried to soothe Callie as she sat on the bed and reached out to hold her baby, saying "It was just a dream Callie, it's okay now, you're awake".

As Stef's hands made contact with Callie's shoulders, Callie pulled back fiercely and hit the back of her head on the wall. Stef cringed at the thought of Callie being terrified of her, but she had to remind herself that Callie was reacting more to the dream than to Stef.

"Hey love, it's mom. You're alright baby, you're alright". Stef said standing up from the bed to give Callie some space. She kneeled down near the bed to not seem so big to Callie. She continued to speak softly and encourage her daughter "It's alright love, it's just me mom. You're safe you, you just had a bad dream.

Callie continued to cough and breathe heavily with tears still rolling down her face. She untangled her foot from her blanket and curled up in a ball on her bed, with her back still facing the wall. Stef's heart was breaking at the sight of her daughter struggling to calm herself down. She wanted so desperately to help and to hold her, but she knew hugging her or touching her at all would only make things worse.

Stef sat with her back against the night stand, since all she could do was wait this out. As she listened to the aching sobs Callie was letting out, she began to tear up. She could feel the pain in Callie's cries, and it felt like someone punched her in the stomach. " _I don't know everything she's been through, but whatever it is that people put her through is absolutely devastating"_ Stef thought as tears began to fall down her face. She leaned her head back against the nightstand as she wiped away her tears. All she could continue to do was try her best to comfort Callie from a distance. "You're okay now love, I'm here, I'm here…"

Lena by now had woken up from Callie's sobs and walked over to the room where she saw Stef looking hopeless as she continued to wipe tears from her eyes.

"What happened?" Lena whispered as she walked towards Stef concerned.

"It was a really bad nightmare. She's in this state right now where I can't get close to her. She's stuck in the past" Stef replied. Callie let out another aching cry as Stef just shut her eyes and Lena grabbed her stomach.

"Oh my gosh…" is all Lena was able to say. She grabbed Stef's hand and laced her fingers into Stef's. Lena also started to tear up at the feeling of desperately wanting to help her child but not knowing how. They both sat there feeling helpless. That feeling is crippling when it comes to your child.

Stef tried her best to continue to reassure Callie she was okay from her spot on the floor. "I need to do something" Lena proposed as she got up off the floor. "I'm going to bring her a glass of water for when she calms down. She'll need it". Stef glanced up at the time as Lena left the room. It had been only 25 minutes since Stef came and checked on her, although it seemed like hours.

Callie was starting to calm down little by little, but she was still hyperventilating and curled up in a ball. She wiped her nose and looked out into the room to see if anyone was there. The look on her face was one that Stef had seen many times before in many other children: it was the look of longing for comfort. Each time she dealt with a case where parents were being arrested and children were somewhere in the house, she would search for them and let them know it was okay and that the police were there to help them. When she found the kids, their faces showed the same expression of longing for safety. Whenever any of her own kids were younger and would fall and hurt their knee, she saw that face. The time Jesus almost got lost in the store, she heard his little voice calling out from two aisles over "Mommy?". She rushed over and saw that face.

"It's alright love, mom's here" Stef affirmed, trying to get her daughter's attention without startling her. Callie's eyes stopped wandering around the room once she heard Stef's voice, and their eyes met. They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments as Callie's face began to scrunch up again, as if she were about to cry again. Callie was tired though, and she didn't have the energy to do so. Stef took this as a sign that she could step in now. She slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed, still being careful as to not startle her daughter. "I know my baby" she explained. "That was a tough one, but you're safe". Callie wiped her nose again, now hearing these words for the first time, since before she was in shock by the dream that she didn't really hear or see anything in her surroundings.

Stef scooted closer to Callie to try and comfort her. She placed her hand on Callie's knee. "It's oka…" Stef began as Callie jumped at the physical contact, fear creeping back onto her face.

"Hey love, it's just me. I won't hurt you, you know that baby" Stef explained.

Callie's face seemed to relax a little as she looked back towards Stef, who had nothing but compassion in her eyes towards her. Callie laid her head down on Stef's lap as she shed a couple more tears. Stef placed her hand on Callie's back and rubbed her back, feeling relieved that she had finally come to her. Lena was watching all of this unfold at the doorway, but didn't want to come in and scare Callie while she was still calming down. Stef glanced at the doorway and motioned for Lena to come in. She placed the glass of water onto the nightstand and began to dig in the drawers for a new set of pajamas, as Callie was drenched in sweat, resulting in her shirt being soaked. Stef leaned over and kissed her daughter's head, continuing to comfort her.

"I brought you some water sweetie" Lena finally spoke up after about 5 minutes. Callie looked over to her bed stand and nodded, her way of showing she was grateful. "Here, have some. I think it will help some" Lena brought the water over to her daughter on the bed as Callie sat up. She drank, extremely parched from crying for so long. She gulped down the glass and handed it back to Lena.

"That's great Cals" Stef remarked seeing her daughter visibly look better. "How about we get you into some new pajamas, huh? Those are kind of sticking to you" Lena mentioned. Callie looked down at her shirt and pajama bottoms and looked back up to Lena. Seeing her daughter unresponsive, Stef turned and faced Callie. "Let me help you love" she offered as she stretched her hand out to help her exhausted daughter. Callie's eyes shot open as she jumped back at the tug of her shirt.

"No, stop! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed startling both of the moms. They both glanced at each other, for the last part of her statement explained to them what Callie's dream must have been about. They knew their children pretty well after all.

"Callie sweetheart we aren't going to hurt you in any way, we just want to help you get into more comfortable pajamas since those are soaked. We know you are tired" Lena explained.

"Don't work yourself up again hun" Stef added as Callie's breathing increased and while staring off into space. "Like mama said, we just want to help you".

Callie shook her head vigorously as she started coughing again. Stef and Lena both knew they had to pick their battles on this one. "Okay, you can stay in those pajamas if you'd like. How about we get you a wet rag instead and wipe your face, yes?" Stef suggested. Callie slowly nodded, slowing her breathing. Lena left the room to retrieve a damp washcloth, and came back quickly.

"Here you go baby" Lena smiled. She took the rag and slowly brought it to Callie's forehead, placing her other hand gently under her chin. Callie began to feel much better now that she wasn't so hot. She was now more aware that she was in the present, and that what she had previously experienced was a dream, and that she was okay now.

"Thank you…" Callie uttered as Lena finished wiping her face.

"Anytime baby" Lena replied.

Callie pulled at her clothing that was still sticking to her body. The moms glanced at each other knowing that Callie was feeling more uncomfortable in her pajamas now that she was back to reality.

"I know you don't want us to change you love, but I think it would help if you switched your clothes out" Stef pointed out as the fresh pajamas sat on top of the dresser. Callie looked over to the pajamas, but hesitated.

"I…I'm scared moms…" she whispered. Lena and Stef knew that was a big thing for Callie to admit.

"It's okay Callie, we're right here" Lena comforted.

"If you decide you want to change and need help, don't be afraid to ask bug. That's what we're here for" Stef added.

"At least sleep on the other end of the bed so you aren't so wet" Lena explained, with all 3 of them looking towards the spot Callie was sleeping on. After a long pause, Callie spoke up.

"How come…" she hesitated. Both moms waited for a moment for Callie to continue.

"How come what love?" Stef asked.

"How come every time I'm doing and feeling good, something like this has to happen and mess everything up? How come I can't just be a normal girl who has nightmares about small stuff that will likely never happen instead of…" she trailed off.

"You're doing great Cal" Lena encouraged. They both waited for Callie to speak, as they knew this was the hard part that she had to let out to heal.

"…instead of stuff that actually happened to me" she admitted, hanging her head down. "I can't seem to get past any of this no matter how hard I try. It's like I'm stuck in a cycle". A tear fell off of Callie's cheek as she brought her knees to her chest.

"Oh Callie, I am so SO sorry for everything that happened to you in the past" Stef started as she wrapped her arms around Callie. "I can't even imagine everything you've been through, and I know it must be so hard to try and move on. Everyone has something from their past that they're trying to not let affect them, but our past can drive us too. It can encourage us to be better and to help others. Callie wiped her tears away as she listened to her mom.

"And you my love are not normal" Stef stated. Callie looked up to Stef with a confused look on her face. Stef smiled as she revealed what she really meant.

"You my dear are _exceptional_ ". She placed her hands on the sides of Callie's face and kissed her on the forehead. "You are extraordinary in every single way, and you are so kind and loving and generous. That's not normal, it's way better than that".

"Very true" Lena added. "And we love you Callie"

"Yes, we love you so so so much baby" Stef said embracing Callie once again.

"I love you too moms" Callie smiled. Lena joined in on the hug, helping Callie feel protected and not threatened.

Lena flipped Callie's pillow over to a dryer side and placed it on the other end of the bed. "We would invite you to our room, but Miss Thing is sleeping in there, and we would be kind of crowded".

"That's okay" Callie replied. "We wouldn't want to wake the beast". Both moms chuckled as Callie smiled.

"I guess since Mariana is on my side of the bed, I'll sleep in her bed with you for the rest of the night. How does that sound?" Stef asked. Callie nodded her head. "Okay" she responded. Lena kissed Callie on the head as she left to her own bed. Callie and Stef had settled in the beds.

"Hey mom?" Callie piped up.

"Yes sweetie?"

"I feel like I'm choking in these pajamas" Callie admitted.

"Well that makes it hard to fall asleep, huh?" Stef got up and grabbed the pajamas Lena had still left out as well as the rag they used earlier. She quickly rewet the rag and came back.

"Can…can you help me?" Callie requested

"Of course love" Stef smiled as she reached to help Callie. Before she pulled on her shirt she paused "Hey, look at me". Callie's eyes met Stef's. "You don't have to be afraid, you know I won't hurt you, yes?" Callie nodded, trying to push away the butterflies in her stomach. "And you don't have to be afraid to ask us for help" she added as Callie nodded, raising her arms to help get the shirt off.

Stef helped Callie out of her sweaty clothes and wiped her down with the damp washcloth. Callie looked to Stef and smiled. She nodded to let her know she was feeling a lot better. Stef helped her into her fresh pajamas, noticing a small scrape on Callie's hand from when it hit the wall. She applied the washcloth to her scrape, and when she was done, she kissed it. Callie pulled Stef in for a hug and kissed her on her temple. Stef chuckled, "Thanks Callie. Goodnight my love".

Callie slept peacefully for the rest of the night, knowing that Stef was there watching over her and that Lena would come too if she needed her. Both Stef and Lena knew it would take a while to get their daughter to stop having nightmares, but knew that with their love and support, she would eventually break out of the cycle she found herself trapped in. After all, she was exceptional.


End file.
